Where Will The Next Big Folk Wave Come From- The Music Of Kate Campbell

A "YouTube" film clip of Kate Campbell performing "Jesus and Tomatoes." Hey, don't shoot the messenger.


CD Review

Visions of Plenty, Kate Campbell, Compass Records, 1998


I have used the first paragraph of this CD review in other reviews of contemporary folk musicians and it fits here as well:


“Frankly, I do not spend much time reviewing some of the more contemporary folk artists on that scene today, although I am vitally interested in where that music is going, and who will keep the folk flame burning. Part of the reason for my neglect is, to paraphrase a somewhat famous folkie from the 1960s folk revival; it is “hard to get worked up about lyrics complaining that the family Volvo is not available or the foibles of a trip to the Swiss Alps.” No question that much of the current scene when not just plain jailing lyrics into some “politically correct” form in order to offend no one or nothing tends to those trivialities.”

That said, I still, in the nature of things get information, or get told information that leads me to listen to some more current performers who may have broken out of that box described above. That is the case with the artist under review, Kate Campbell. This one is kind of a long story but it entails someone I know going to a folk music summer camp (for adults, if you can believe that) where Ms. Campbell was running a songwriting workshop. This friend came away a devotee not only of Ms. Campbell's music but of the her lyrical skills. So, naturally, I had to give a listen. Although I can’t say I am a devotee I can see where Ms. Campbell’s lyrics come from the depths of her Southern soul and reflect a very different way of coming to terms with the Southern experience of the past half century or so.

To get an idea of what I mean listen to the title track, “Visions Of Plenty” (with great vocals), “Perfect World”, and “Bus 109”. For a zany side (the side that reflects what I meant in the first paragraph) listen to “Jesus and Tomatoes”. I rest my case.


Kate Campbell Visions Of Plenty written by Kate Campbell
Tricia Walker

Kate Campbell vocals/acoustic guitar
Emmylou Harris harmony vocal
Johnny Pierce acoustic guitar/vocals
Don Johnson bass
Bo Ramsey guitar
Howard Laravea keyboards
Wayne Killius drums
Dave Hoffner keyboards
Kristen Wilkinson viola

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ac490/kate.html

A
I live south of Memphis in downtown Hollywood

And these fields are all I've ever known

Season after season I have worked to find a way

To buy a piece of land to call my own
D A
Sometimes when that Delta sun comes beating down
E A
Well I swear those rows of cotton shine like gold
D
Visions of plenty
A
Roll across my mind
E
Still my hands are empty
A
And the system's going dry
D
I keep thinking bout my children
A
What's left down here for them
E
Just a cotton field of dreams
D E
And everybody's dreaming everybody's dreaming
A
Dreaming just like me
A
A sign went up for Harrah's on highway 61

Promising we'd all be winners soon

So every Friday evening I go and spin the wheel

Sometimes I win most times I lose
D A
These lights are so much brighter than I thought they'd be
E
And they make me think
A
I'll see my dreams come true
D
Visions of plenty
A
Roll across my mind
E
Still my hands are empty
A
And the system's going dry
D
I keep thinking bout my children
A
What's left down here for them
E
Just a cotton field of dreams
D E
And everybody's dreaming everybody's dreaming
A
Dreaming just like me
D
I keep thinking bout my children
A
What's left down here for them
E
Just a cotton field of dreams
D E
And everybody's dreaming everybody's dreaming
A
Dreaming just like me


From Kate Campbell "Visions Of Plenty"
Compass Records 1998

©1996 Large River Music Inc. (BMI)/Songs Of Crossfield Inc (BMI)
Inspiration: Elvis

Kate Campbell
c/o Large River Music
P. O. Box 121743
Nashville, TN 37212
USA